Wood Cracking?

josie_notjodie · Feb 22, 2023

Wondering if this is concerning? I noticed this wood splitting today on my DIY aquarium stand. Turtle tank is 75 gallons and that is the only weight this bears besides a power strip in the back and a plant. The crack does not go all the way through to the other side of the 2x4.

Backstory: I built this “Pet Apartment” back in July to accommodate our turtle in our small studio apartment. I did extensive research on how much weight wood can bear and how much support I would need but I’ve always been anxious about it possibility not being enough and at the thought of coming home to our apartment being flooded in 75 gallons or turtle water.

Wondering if you think this is a OK or if I should reinforce and how? I don’t really want to have to take everything down to reinforce as we are moving in May and don’t plan on keeping this setup after the move.
TIA

Big G · Feb 22, 2023

Do you know if those 2x4s are kiln dried? If not, they are probably drying out and the surface "checking" is kinda common with construction grade lumber.

PotatoPig · Feb 23, 2023

The diagonals *shouldnt* be taking any load. The load *should* be going through the verticals.

A bigger concern would be these tanks are designed to be supported at each end, specifically under the corners. It looks like you have a beam across the middle between the two posts that runs under the middle of the tank? If so it’s possible you’re making the glass work in a direction the manufacturer wasn’t planning on.

redfishbluefish · Feb 23, 2023

Here are my concerns with your build....both easily fixed:

1. Load transfer
2. OSB Top Board

1. LOAD - Right now your load is being supported by the screws/fasteners you used to hold the 2x4's together. You want load to be transferred directly to the floor, not relying on the fasteners to hold that load. The easiest way to fix this is to add four corner boards that snugly fit between the top and bottom frame. What I'm talking about, from this picture below, is adding boards similar to the purple colored ones. You don't necessarily need two in each corner....one should be sufficient, where it overlaps the upper frame corner joint.

2. OSB - It appears the top board is Oriented Strand Board (OSB). This has poor structural properties and does not take water very well.....it swells. I would suggest putting another piece of 3/4 plywood right on top of the OSB. The plywood is more rigid and will take getting wet much better. Construction grade would be just fine.